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PayPay for foreigners in Japan: what you need
Yes, if you live in Japan. PayPay needs a Japanese mobile number that can receive an SMS code, and says a mobile number from overseas cannot be used. You do not need a bank account to start: you can top up with cash at Seven Bank and Lawson Bank ATMs. A residence card with at least 90 days left passes the ID check, except one issued on or after 14 June 2026, which PayPay does not accept yet.
Read from PayPay's own help and guide pages on October 26, 2026.
On this page
What do I need to sign up for PayPay?
A Japanese mobile number on a phone that can receive an SMS code, and the PayPay app. PayPay says a mobile number from overseas cannot be used (PayPay help), and describes the device as a smartphone contract (PayPay help).
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Have a Japanese mobile number that gets SMSJapanese number
Overseas numbers are refused. A data-only SIM may come without SMS. PayPay
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Install the app and tap start
Enter your mobile number when the app asks. PayPay
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Enter the SMS codeSMS code
PayPay sends at most 15 codes a day. After that, wait 24 hours. PayPay
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Set a password, or use an Apple or Google account
No ID document is asked for at this point. PayPay
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Add money with cash at a Seven Bank or Lawson Bank ATM
No fee, and no account at either bank. Before the ID check, this becomes PayPay Money Light. PayPay
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Pay
Before the ID check, PayPay sets a payment limit of ¥500,000 per 24 hours. PayPay
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Do the ID check when you want to link a bank accountID check
Residence card with at least 90 days left, app version 4.55.0 or later. PayPay
The ID check comes later. It lets you register a bank account and use PayPay Money, the balance type that can be sent to a bank (PayPay help).
Which SIMs can receive the code?
A voice or smartphone plan can. Some data-only SIMs come without SMS, and those cannot receive it (PayPay help).
Can I change phone or carrier?
Yes, as long as the mobile number stays the same. Log in with the registered number and your password (PayPay help). If you close the account, the same number cannot register again for 180 days (PayPay help). Carrier rules for keeping a number are in keeping your number when you switch carriers.
Can I use PayPay without a Japanese phone number?
No. PayPay asks you to have a Japanese mobile number and says one from overseas cannot be used (PayPay help). A data-only eSIM has no number at all.
Do you have a Japanese mobile number that gets SMS?
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Yes
Sign up. Check the SIM is a voice or smartphone plan: data-only SIMs may come without SMS. PayPay
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No
Get a voice SIM first. PayPay refuses overseas numbers and an eSIM that is data only has no number. The two providers below say their voice plans come with a Japanese number. PayPay
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I am only visiting
Checking. PayPay's help and guide pages we read do not say whether a short-term visitor in Japan can use PayPay. They require a Japanese mobile number, and they say new registration and the ID check cannot be done abroad.
A voice SIM gives you a Japanese mobile number. Sakura Mobile and Mobal both say their voice plans come with a 070, 080 or 090 number (Sakura Mobile, Mobal, read October 3, 2026). Sakura Mobile says you can sign up entirely in English with no Japanese bank account required. Mobal says incoming texts are free, so a code can arrive. The Sakura Mobile page we read does not mention SMS, so that is Checking. We have not tested either SIM with PayPay.
Which numbers banks and apps accept is in Japanese phone numbers for foreigners: 090 vs 050. If you have no credit card to pay for the SIM, phone plans without a credit card lists who takes what.
A voice SIM fits you if
- You live in Japan and have only a number from your home country
- You want to sign up in English
Not for you if
- You already have a Japanese mobile number with SMS. Use it
- You are visiting for a few days and want data only
What happens after you click: the provider's English page opens. You pick a plan, give your ID, and the provider assigns the number once the line is active. Plans, ID rules and payment are on the Sakura Mobile review and the Mobal review.
See Sakura Mobile's plans and sign up in English
Order a Mobal SIM card for pickup or delivery
Does PayPay accept a residence card for the ID check?
Yes. A residence card (在留カード) is one of the four documents PayPay lists for its ID check (eKYC): the My Number card, a driver's license, the residence card and a special permanent resident certificate. Foreign nationals under 16 can use only the My Number card (PayPay help). If your stay is not unlimited, PayPay names only three: the My Number card, the residence card and the special permanent resident certificate (PayPay help).
- Accepted Residence card (在留カード) At least 90 days left on the day you apply. App version 4.55.0 or later. PayPay
- Not yet Residence card issued on or after 14 June 2026 PayPay is preparing to accept it and has set no date. Use a My Number card meanwhile. PayPay
- Accepted Special permanent resident certificate (特別永住者証明書) On PayPay's list with the residence card. PayPay
- Accepted My Number card (マイナンバーカード) Chip-read or face-check routes. If your stay is not unlimited, the route that uses the 6 to 16 character PIN is closed to you. PayPay
- Not on the list if your stay is limited Driver's license (運転免許証) PayPay accepts it in general, but names only three documents for people whose stay is not unlimited. PayPay
- Not accepted Passport PayPay says it cannot be used for the ID check. PayPay
- Not accepted Health insurance card (健康保険証) Same PayPay sentence as the passport. PayPay
The app must be version 4.55.0 or later, and you scan the card's IC chip with your phone and photograph the card and your face (PayPay's ID check page). A result can come the same day. A check done by photographing a document takes a few days (PayPay help).
What if my residence card was issued on or after 14 June 2026?
It cannot be used yet. PayPay says it is preparing to accept it, and an applicant who tries sees the message "the number you entered is wrong" (PayPay help). PayPay has set no date (PayPay help).
PayPay's answer is to apply with a My Number card instead (PayPay help). Other companies' rules for the new card are in the residence card online verification tracker.
What happens when my period of stay ends?
PayPay asks you to update your ID details when your period of stay is close to ending, and may restrict your use if you do not (PayPay help). If you have applied to extend, PayPay allows use for up to two months after the end date, through a separate procedure with customer support (PayPay help). If you leave Japan, PayPay asks you to close the account (PayPay help). Closing deletes your balance and points, and PayPay says this cannot be undone (PayPay help), so spend or withdraw the balance first.
Do I need a Japanese bank account to put money in PayPay?
No. You can top up with cash at Seven Bank and Lawson Bank ATMs. There is no fee and no account at either bank is needed (PayPay help).
-
Bank account
- Needs
- The ID check first, and an account in your own name. Business accounts are refused.
- Fee
- None. About 1,000 institutions supported.
- Top-up limit per 24 hours
- ¥500,000 before the ID check, ¥1,000,000 after
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Cash at a Seven Bank or Lawson Bank ATM
- Needs
- Nothing else. No account at either bank, and no ID check.
- Fee
- None.
- Top-up limit per 24 hours
- ¥500,000 before the ID check, ¥500,000 after
Before the ID check the money arrives as PayPay Money Light.
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Credit card
- Needs
- A Visa or Mastercard in your own name. Since September 2026, most cards pay through a voucher: ¥10,000 steps, up to ¥250,000 a month.
- Fee
- Checking
- Top-up limit per 24 hours
- Checking
A card issued abroad may not register.
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PayPay Card (PayPay Credit)
- Needs
- A PayPay Card, registered as PayPay Credit. Whether a foreign resident can apply is Checking.
- Fee
- Checking
- Top-up limit per 24 hours
- ¥100,000 before the ID check, ¥500,000 after
Which banks can I link?
PayPay's list names Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ銀行), MUFG Bank (三菱UFJ銀行), Mizuho Bank (みずほ銀行), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (三井住友銀行), PayPay Bank, Seven Bank and others (PayPay bank list). Sony Bank and SBI Shinsei Bank are in the full list. A listing does not mean the bank will open an account for you. That is covered in the bank account guide.
Can I link a credit card?
You can register a Visa or Mastercard credit card in your own name (PayPay help). Since September 2026, paying with a card other than an eligible Sumitomo Mitsui Card (三井住友カード) card means buying a voucher (他社カード利用券) first (PayPay help). You buy it in ¥10,000 steps, up to ¥250,000 a month (PayPay help).
A card issued outside Japan may not register. PayPay says a prepaid card or a credit card issued abroad may fail, and tells you to have another payment method ready (PayPay help).
Cards that foreign residents can apply for, with their ID rules, are in the credit card guide, and the EPOS Card has its own page: EPOS Card for foreigners. We have not checked which of those cards PayPay treats as an eligible Sumitomo Mitsui Card card, so we do not say which would pay directly.
Can I get a PayPay Card?
Checking. PayPay Card Co. lists three conditions: living in Japan and 18 or older, a steady income for you or your spouse, and a phone that can do identity checks. Its page names no document for the application and does not say whether a foreign resident can apply (PayPay Card help). Its help page does say foreign members are asked to send a copy of the residence card, and that use of the card may be restricted if they do not (PayPay Card help). With a PayPay Card, registering it as PayPay Credit lets you pay and top up like a credit card (PayPay help).
How much can I spend before and after the ID check?
With PayPay balance, the limit for paying is ¥500,000 in 24 hours before the ID check and ¥1,000,000 after it (PayPay's limits page). You can hold at most ¥1,000,000 of each balance type at one time (PayPay's limits page).
Paying with PayPay balance
Per 24 hours
Per 30 days
Top-up from a bank account
Per 24 hours
Per 30 days
Top-up with cash at a Seven Bank or Lawson Bank ATM
Per 24 hours
Per 30 days
Top-up from PayPay Credit (PayPay Card main member)
Per 24 hours
Per 30 days
Sending balance to a person
Per 24 hours
Per 30 days
Top-up limits for other methods, and limits for paying with a credit card, are in the same page. PayPay changes them, so check the page before you plan a large payment.
Can I send money to a friend with PayPay?
Yes. Sending PayPay balance to another person has no fee and works in ¥1 steps. You can scan their QR code, enter their mobile number or PayPay ID, or send a link by a messaging app or email (PayPay's send page).
The limit is ¥300,000 in 24 hours after the ID check and ¥100,000 before it (PayPay's limits page). The person who receives can move the money on to a bank account only if they have finished the ID check and you sent PayPay Money, not PayPay Money Light (PayPay's send page). Before your own ID check, cash from an ATM arrives as PayPay Money Light (PayPay help).
Is the PayPay app in English, and what about Suica and visitors?
Yes, in part. The App Store listing for the PayPay app lists English and Japanese, and PayPay's own 2020 blog post says it added an English interface for those who choose (App Store listing, PayPay blog). The post says English then covered the core functions but not every function. We did not open the app, so we do not say where the language setting is. PayPay's help pages can also be shown in English; PayPay says that text is an automatic AI translation (PayPay help).
Suica: the PayPay balance card (PayPay残高カード, a card that spends your PayPay balance online) cannot top up Suica, PASMO or similar transit cards, or buy Shinkansen tickets (PayPay help). The page says nothing about other PayPay payment methods and Suica. JR East's Suica pages refused our reader, so we state nothing about what Suica accepts.
Visitors: Checking. PayPay's pages we read do not say whether a short-term visitor in Japan can use PayPay. They require a Japanese mobile number, and they say new registration and the ID check cannot be done abroad (PayPay help).
How we checked
We read PayPay's help center, service guide and app store listing, and PayPay Card Co.'s help pages, on October 26, 2026. Each rule above is tied to a sentence on the page linked beside it, saved in our data file with its address and the day we read it. Where the pages did not say, the rule reads Checking. We did not sign up for PayPay, use the app, or test any SIM with it, so none of this is first-hand experience. PayPay changes these rules often. The other-company card voucher began in September 2026, and the new residence card is not accepted yet.
Every PayPay rule on this page 48 sourced, 3 checking
- Phone number: PayPay says a mobile number from outside Japan cannot be used. You need a Japanese mobile number. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- SMS code: Sign-up needs a phone that can receive an SMS code, which PayPay describes as a smartphone contract. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Data-only SIM: Some data-only SIMs come without SMS, so they cannot receive the code. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Registering: Sign-up is a phone-number check, then a password or an Apple or Google account. PayPay's start page lists no ID document for registering. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Codes per day: PayPay sends at most 15 SMS codes a day. After that, wait at least 24 hours. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Keeping your number: Changing phone or carrier does not matter as long as the mobile number stays the same. Log in with the registered number and password. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- After closing an account: After you close a PayPay account, the same mobile number cannot register again for 180 days. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Residence card: A residence card (在留カード) is one of the four documents PayPay accepts for its ID check (eKYC). The others are the My Number card, a driver's license and a special permanent resident certificate. Foreign nationals under 16 can use only the My Number card. (source page, read October 26, 2026)
- Passport: A passport or a health insurance card cannot be used for the ID check. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Time left on the card: The residence card must have at least 90 days left on it on the day you apply. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- App version: The residence card route needs PayPay app version 4.55.0 or later. You scan the card's IC chip with your phone and photograph the card and your face. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Card issued from 14 June 2026: A residence card issued on or after 14 June 2026 cannot be used yet. PayPay says it is preparing to accept it and gives no date. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- When the new card will work: PayPay has not set a date for accepting the new card. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- With a new card: With a new-format card, PayPay tells you to apply with a My Number card instead. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- My Number card PIN route: If your stay is not unlimited, the My Number card route that uses the 6 to 16 character PIN set at the city office is not available to you. The other My Number card routes are. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- How long the check takes: A result can come the same day. A check done by photographing the document takes a few days. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- What the ID check lets you do: The ID check is what lets you register a bank account and use PayPay Money (the balance type that can be sent to a bank). (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Bank account: To top up from a bank account you register it in the app. That needs the ID check first, and the account must be in your own name. Business accounts are refused. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Banks supported: PayPay says about 1,000 financial institutions are supported as of September 2026, and none charges a top-up fee. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Cash at an ATM: You can top up with cash at Seven Bank and Lawson Bank ATMs, with no fee and no account at either bank. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Paying, after the ID check: After the ID check, you can pay up to ¥1,000,000 in 24 hours and ¥2,000,000 in 30 days with PayPay balance. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Paying, before the ID check: Before the ID check, the limit for paying with PayPay balance is ¥500,000 in 24 hours. PayPay's footnote gives no separate 30-day figure. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Credit card brands: You can register a Visa or Mastercard credit card in your own name. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Paying with a credit card: From September 2026, paying with a credit card other than the eligible Sumitomo Mitsui Card (三井住友カード) cards means buying an other-company card voucher (他社カード利用券) first. The eligible Sumitomo Mitsui Card cards still pay directly. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Card voucher: You buy a voucher in ¥10,000 steps, up to ¥250,000 a month. A voucher cannot be refunded after purchase. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Card issued abroad: A prepaid card or a credit card issued outside Japan may not register. PayPay tells you to have another payment method ready. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- PayPay Card: If you hold a PayPay Card (PayPayカード), registering it as PayPay Credit lets you pay like a credit card and top up PayPay balance. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Extending your stay: PayPay asks you to update your ID details when your period of stay is close to ending. If you do not update within the period it gives, it may restrict your use of PayPay. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- While an extension is pending: If you applied to extend your stay and can show it, PayPay allows use for up to two months after the date your period of stay ended. This needs a separate procedure through PayPay customer support. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Leaving Japan: If you leave Japan when your stay ends, PayPay asks you to close your PayPay account. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Closing the account: Closing the account deletes your PayPay balance, points and voucher balances, and PayPay says this cannot be undone. Spend or withdraw the balance first. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Help pages in English: PayPay's help pages can be shown in English. PayPay says the English text is an automatic AI translation. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Suica: The PayPay balance card (PayPay残高カード, the card that spends your PayPay balance online) cannot top up Suica, PASMO or similar transit cards, or buy Shinkansen tickets. PayPay's page says nothing about other PayPay payment methods and Suica. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- ID for a limited stay: If your period of stay is not unlimited, PayPay says to use one of three documents: a My Number card (chip-read or face-check routes), a residence card or a special permanent resident certificate. A driver's license is not on that list. You pick your nationality and residence status during the check. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- App in English: The App Store listing for the PayPay app, published by PayPay Corporation, lists its languages as English and Japanese. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- English in the app (2020 post): PayPay's own blog post of 8 July 2020 says the app got an English interface from version 2.36.0 for those who choose. It says English covered the core functions: registering, linking a bank account or card, paying, checking the balance, and sending and receiving money, but not every function. We did not open the app, so where the setting sits is not checked. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Signing up abroad: PayPay says new registration and the ID check cannot be done outside Japan. Its overseas payment mode needs the ID check finished inside Japan first. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Top-up limit, bank account: Topping up from a registered bank account: after the ID check, ¥1,000,000 in 24 hours and ¥2,000,000 in 30 days. Before it, ¥500,000 in 24 hours and ¥2,000,000 in 30 days. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Top-up limit, ATM cash: Topping up with cash at a Seven Bank or Lawson Bank ATM: ¥500,000 in 24 hours and ¥2,000,000 in 30 days, the same before and after the ID check. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Top-up limit, PayPay Credit: Topping up from PayPay Credit with a PayPay Card main-member card: after the ID check, ¥500,000 in 24 hours and ¥2,000,000 in 30 days. Before it, ¥100,000 in 24 hours and ¥100,000 in 30 days. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Sending limit: Sending PayPay balance to another person: after the ID check, ¥300,000 in 24 hours and ¥1,000,000 in 30 days. Before it, ¥100,000 in 24 hours, ¥500,000 in 30 days and ¥300,000 in a calendar month. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Most you can hold: You can hold at most ¥1,000,000 of PayPay Money and ¥1,000,000 of PayPay Money Light (the balance type you get before the ID check) at one time. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- ATM top-up before the ID check: A top-up at an ATM before the ID check becomes PayPay Money Light. After the ID check it becomes PayPay Money. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Sending money: You can send PayPay balance to another person with no fee, in ¥1 steps, by scanning their QR code, by their mobile number or PayPay ID, or by a link sent through a messaging app or email. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Receiving sent money in a bank: The person you send to can move the balance on to a bank account only if they have finished the ID check and you sent PayPay Money, not PayPay Money Light. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Banks named: PayPay's supported-bank list names PayPay Bank, Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ銀行), MUFG Bank (三菱UFJ銀行), Mizuho Bank (みずほ銀行), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (三井住友銀行), Docomo SMTB Net Bank and Seven Bank at the top. Sony Bank and SBI Shinsei Bank are in the full list. A listing does not say a bank will open an account for you. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- PayPay Card conditions: PayPay Card Co. lists three conditions to apply: living in Japan and 18 or older, a steady income for you or your spouse, and a phone that can do identity checks. Its page does not name a document for the application, and does not say whether a foreign resident can apply. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- PayPay Card and the residence card: PayPay Card Co. asks foreign members to send a copy of the residence card. If they do not, or the stay period they gave has passed, it may restrict use of the card. (source page, read October 18, 2026)
- Visitors: Checking PayPay's help and guide pages we read do not say whether a short-term visitor in Japan can use PayPay. They require a Japanese mobile number, and they say new registration and the ID check cannot be done abroad.
- PayPay Card for foreign residents: Checking PayPay Card Co.'s pages we read do not say whether a foreign resident can apply or which document the application takes. They do say foreign members are asked for a residence card copy.
- Paying, 30 days, before the ID check: Checking PayPay's limits page gives no 30-day figure for paying with PayPay balance before the ID check.
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PayPay for foreigners: FAQ
Can foreigners use PayPay in Japan?
Yes, if they have a Japanese mobile number that can receive an SMS code. PayPay says a mobile number from overseas cannot be used. A residence card works for the ID check, except cards issued on or after 14 June 2026, which PayPay does not accept yet.
Can I use PayPay without a Japanese phone number?
No. PayPay's help page says a mobile number from overseas cannot be used and asks for a Japanese one. A voice SIM from a provider that sells in English gives you a Japanese mobile number.
Can I use PayPay without a bank account?
Yes. You can top up with cash at Seven Bank and Lawson Bank ATMs, with no fee and no account at either bank. Linking a bank account needs the ID check first, and the account must be in your own name.
Can I use a credit card from my home country with PayPay?
It may not register. PayPay says a prepaid card or a credit card issued outside Japan may fail to register. Only Visa and Mastercard can be registered, and from September 2026 most cards pay through a voucher you buy first.
Does PayPay accept the new residence card?
Not yet. A residence card issued on or after 14 June 2026 cannot be used for the ID check, and PayPay has set no date. PayPay tells you to apply with a My Number card instead.
Which ID works for PayPay if I am a foreign resident?
A residence card, a My Number card or a special permanent resident certificate. If your stay is not unlimited, those are the three PayPay names. A passport and a health insurance card are refused, and a residence card issued from 14 June 2026 is not accepted yet.
Is the PayPay app in English?
Yes, in part. The App Store listing lists English and Japanese, and PayPay's 2020 blog post says it added an English interface for those who choose. We did not open the app to find the setting.
Can I send money to a friend with PayPay?
Yes, with no fee, by QR code, mobile number, PayPay ID or a link. After the ID check the limit is ¥300,000 in 24 hours. The receiver can move the money to a bank account only after their own ID check.
Can tourists use PayPay?
PayPay's pages we read do not address visitors. They do require a Japanese mobile number, and a visitor with only a home-country SIM does not have one.
Set Up in Japan is an independent guide, not PayPay's site.
See Sakura Mobile's plans and sign up in English